Preparing students for the workforce is a balancing act that involves theory, practice, and assessment. As students navigate an educational experience that is, however, often distant from real-world needs, it is imperative that academia finds a novel way to bridge the gap. As many organizations utilize open challenges to attract ideas and talent,…

The capstone course serves to integrate accumulated knowledge with a culminating experience or project and is a common component in undergraduate and graduate programs. The research on capstones courses shows that many capstone experiences or projects involve students working with outside clients, such as local businesses and organizations, to…

The research phase preluding a design capstone project is challenging for both students and instructors. In a situation where students are free to work on a topic of their choosing, a preset, generic research design is not suitable. Imposing a rigid framework would endanger the possibility of students truly examining and capturing the complexity…

In this paper, we consider the perceived effectiveness of using industry-based transdisciplinary, complex problems as a vehicle for final year undergraduate mathematics students to apply their knowledge and skills in realistic settings, preparing them for the world of work. The discussion centres on a recently designed, implemented and evaluated…

Contribution: Increased understanding of the influence of a project-based multidisciplinary design and innovation course on students' engineering design thinking, specifically regarding problem framing. Background: Entrepreneurship-related education has been offered to engineering and technology students, but its influence has been discussed…

The purpose of this research was to examine pedagogical factors that supported graduate-level Instructional Design students in the rapid adoption and integration of technology-based projects in under 7 weeks, previously accomplished in approximately 9-months. Project-Based Learning (PBL) pedagogy was adopted to redesign a course to scaffold and…

With greater demand for business educators and students to focus on 21st-century skills, project-based learning (PBL) has become increasingly important. The PBL method complements existing curriculum by enabling direct transference of course concepts into real-world application. Despite known benefits, some management educators may shy away from…

Students are attracted to innovation and entrepreneurship. However, it is challenging for them to take courses in I&E due to their already busy curriculums. This paper describes the "New Venture Design Experience," a one-year interdisciplinary program that pairs core and elective courses between the colleges of Engineering and…

This paper discusses the development of a MIS (Management Information Systems) capstone course in an adult graduate information technology program at Johns Hopkins University (Maryland). Rather than focusing on a technology topic, the course provides an environment that allows students to apply the information and skills that they have obtained in…

Capstones are culminating experiences in which students synthesize subject-matter knowledge they have acquired, integrate cross-disciplinary knowledge, and connect theory and application in preparation for entry into a career. Capstone courses should be both a synthesis and a bridge to students' future after graduation. In career and technical…